. Hysteria and certain allied conditions, their nature and treatment, with special reference to the application of the rest cure, massage, electrotherapy, hypnotism, etc. hysteria, itmust be remembered that the mind must share inthe exercise as well as the body. As Du Bois Ray-mond* well says : It is plain, therefore, that everymotion of our body depends not so much upon theforce of the contractions of the muscles, as uponthe harmony of their action. To execute any com-plex act, as a leap, for instance, each muscle mustbegin to contract at exactly the right moment, andthe force exerted by each
. Hysteria and certain allied conditions, their nature and treatment, with special reference to the application of the rest cure, massage, electrotherapy, hypnotism, etc. hysteria, itmust be remembered that the mind must share inthe exercise as well as the body. As Du Bois Ray-mond* well says : It is plain, therefore, that everymotion of our body depends not so much upon theforce of the contractions of the muscles, as uponthe harmony of their action. To execute any com-plex act, as a leap, for instance, each muscle mustbegin to contract at exactly the right moment, andthe force exerted by each, according to definite laws,should increase, continue, and diminish again, in orderto effect the suitable position of the limbs, and topropel, at the proper speed, the center of gravity ofthe body in the desired direction. We have reasonto believe that, as a rule, the muscle promptly obeysthe nerve, and that its degree of contractility foreach movement is determined by the degree of irri-tability of the nerve which obtained at the momentjust preceding. Since the nerves are merely organsfor the conduction of impulses originating in the *On Exercise, 1881. Plate O ©a o +-> ao aLd Li_ o © (0 >C oO H cr as CL COq coH ;#g?^ MASSAGE. motor cells, it follows that the actual mechanism ofevery complex motion must have its seat in the cen-tral nervous system ; and that, consequently, prac-tising exercises is nothing more than schoolingthe central nervous system. All species of bodilyexercises, therefore, are not simply muscular gym-nastics, but nerve gymnastics as well. The goldenrule to be observed in regard to exercise, whateverbe its form, is to stop short of actual fatigue. Oftenthe good effects of the exercise are more than coun-terbalanced by the exhaustion following too pro-longed exertion. From this it follows that, in pre-scribing exercise, we cannot simply order a certainamount, but must be guided by the effect upon theindividual patient. CHAPTER XL THE REST CURE.
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